Ohta takes comeback win, seven Honda drivers score points
Mobility Resort MotegiFriday 3 April marked the opening of the 2026 Japanese SUPER FORMULA Championship. The venue, Mobility Resort Motegi, underwent extensive resurfacing and run-off area upgrades during the off-season.
Qualifying
The opening round on Saturday 4 April was heavily influenced by changing weather conditions. At the start of qualifying in the morning, only light rain was falling, prompting all cars to run on dry tyres. Ayumu Iwasa (TEAM MUGEN AUTOBACS) secured pole position, followed by Kakunoshin Ohta (DOCOMO DANDELION RACING) and Ren Sato (PONOS NAKAJIMA RACING). Rookie Yuto Nomura (San-Ei Gen with B-Max) took P4, ahead of Igor Omura Fraga (PONOS NAKAJIMA RACING) and Syun Koide (ThreeBond Racing), resulting in a clean sweep of the top six grid positions by Honda/M-TEC-powered entries.
Race
Rain intensified ahead of the afternoon race, creating full wet conditions. The race began under the Safety Car (SC). With heavy spray severely limiting visibility and grip, multiple incidents occurred, prompting a red flag on lap 3.
After approximately one hour, the race resumed behind the SC, with green flag conditions finally declared on lap 15. However, another incident further down the field led to a second SC period shortly after.
On lap 19, Kakunoshin Ohta, running in second, seized his opportunity at the SC restart. Using the Overtake System (OTS), Ohta broke free from the spray behind race leader Iwasa, drew alongside on the inside into Turn 1, and completed the pass on corner exit to take the lead.
A subsequent incident brought out the SC once again, and with the race scheduled for 37 laps, it was ultimately concluded at lap 23 due to the two-hour time limit. Ohta took the chequered flag to win the season opener.
“I said before the start that I would take the lead, so I committed to the move at that moment. I also won the opening round last year, but my goal this season is the championship,” said Ohta.
Iwasa finished P2, with Sato securing P3, completing an all-Honda/M-TEC podium. Omura Fraga took P4, Koide finished P5, rookie Nomura claimed P7, and Tomoki Nojiri (TEAM MUGEN AUTOBACS), marking his 100th SUPER FORMULA start, finished P8. In total, Honda/M-TEC-powered cars occupied seven of the top 10 positions.
As less than 75% of the scheduled race distance was completed, half points were awarded for this round.
I noticed that Iwasa seemed to be struggling to warm up his tyres under the Safety Car, so I decided to use OTS on the exit of the final corner at the restart. It was a bit of a gamble, or rather a situation where I just had to commit and go for it, but I believe I made it work through sheer determination.
After missing out on the title last year, I went through something like burnout, and it was difficult to reset mentally ahead of the season opener. But I’m aiming to perform even better than last year and fight for the championship.
I noticed that Iwasa seemed to be struggling to warm up his tyres under the Safety Car, so I decided to use OTS on the exit of the final corner at the restart. It was a bit of a gamble, or rather a situation where I just had to commit and go for it, but I believe I made it work through sheer determination.
After missing out on the title last year, I went through something like burnout, and it was difficult to reset mentally ahead of the season opener. But I’m aiming to perform even better than last year and fight for the championship.
